iCapital hires Insignia exec to open office

Alternative investment platform iCapital has appointed Mark Oliver as head of client solutions for Australia ahead of opening a Sydney office, signaling the New York-based fintech's push into the local market.

Oliver will be responsible for building relationships with local wholesale advisers and ensuring they have access to iCapital's suite of alternative investment solutions and analytics tools.

He joins from Insignia Financial, where he served as chief distribution officer, overseeing sales, client relationships, and product governance. He departed the financial services giant last year when chief executive Scott Harley unveiled a new operating model and executive team.

Oliver has 30 years' experience across the financial services sector in Australia and the UK.

He also took on the role of head of superannuation from February 2023.

Before joining Insignia, he was managing director and head of wholesale advisory at BlackRock's local operations.

Earlier, he worked for Credit Suisse Asset Management and State Street.

The appointment marks the latest in a series of regional developments for iCapital as it targets Asia-Pacific markets. In 2023, the platform partnered with Australian investment platform NetWealth to distribute global private market and hedge fund investments to financial advisers and their wholesale clients.

The company's expansion comes as its assets under management hit $200 billion globally last year, with about half of its $36 billion of international assets attributed to Asia-Pacific markets.

"Australia is an important strategic market in our mission to make private markets more inclusive," said iCapital's head of international, Marco Bizzozero.

The platform allows financial advisers to access and manage alternative investments through digital infrastructure that handles the traditionally complex operational requirements of private markets investing, including due diligence, compliance and reporting.

Edwin Chan, head of client solutions for Asia-Pacific at iCapital, said Australia represented "a significant opportunity" for the platform to expand its presence in the region, citing the market's "burgeoning wealth opportunity".

iCapital was founded in 2013 and has offices across the US, Europe and Asia. The platform serves financial advisers, wealth managers and asset managers, providing access to a comprehensive marketplace of alternative investment products.